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Name: Mitchel Van Dinther aka Jameszoo
Occupation: Producer
Nationality: Dutch
Recent release: Jameszoo's Blind is out via Brainfeeder.
Recommendations: The Clock by Christian Marclay; Sexy Beast by Jonathan Glazer

If you enjoyed this interview with Jameszoo and would like to find out more, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, and twitter.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/ or sound that drew you to it?

I started around 2010. Influenced by the beat-scene revolving around Myspace. The sonic-creativity within the context of instrumental Hip Hop drew me in.

Some people experience intense emotion when listening to music, others see colours or shapes. What is your own listening experience like and how does it influence your approach to music?

It really varies.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

The process seems to remain the same for every new project. New interests arise and I tend to dive in. If the process/project frustrates me enough I will continue.

My personal voice within these projects is inevitably present as I’m the one creating.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I believe humans behave and act a certain way to fit within a certain social structure. It’s hard to bypass this.

We listen and create not only based on our sonic preferences but also based on our social preferences.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

I make music about music. And I make art about art. That's the common denominator.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I’m currently not per se interested in either of those. I find that my pre conceptualised notions of what the music should tend to get in the way of something actually interesting coming out of the process.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

The key for me is collaboration. Having multiple perspectives on one project and me being able to ultimately decide what perspectives I would like to show to the outside.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

Really varies. But I mostly get up at 8 and just start my day. I work for most of the day and when at home I spend time on other interests. Currently kickboxing, but this changes all the time.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

I recorded most of this latest record, Blind, like a game of telephone extrapolating the source material and when the phrases slowly became something I really enjoyed, I started arranging and composing with it.

That's what most of my creative processes look like.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I’m collaborating most of the time. I really enjoy it. And even if I would suddenly decide to not collaborate anymore, I still would work within a certain context.

This context is shaped and formed by all that came before. So there is no such thing as a completely solitary one way process.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

Hard for me to answer this. I’m in no position to decide on what music means to other people.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

It has never. When I listen to music I learn about music.

There seems to be increasing interest in a functional, “rational” and scientific approach to music. How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

I’m in no position to tell any scientist how music can help their practice. I definitely find it inspiring though.

For instance to see new technology arise from these different fields, and that technology to be potentially interesting within the confinement of music making as well. That's a big part of how electronic music started.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think the two are inherently different: I can’t make a cup of coffee tell you anything about music. And I can’t make my music tell you anything about coffee.